What Did You Do in the War, Grandma?

This was an interesting passage to read, because I had learned about this in history class but not as in depth. I knew that women took over men’s jobs, but I had no idea that they were building the machinery that the men were using to fight the war. It was scary thinking that this woman was 18 but she was building such heavy duty machinery, and even helped create the planes that dropped the atom bomb. It was also a bit terrifying thinking that these women needed absolutely no prior experience in the trade. It seems like building these is so difficult that one would need at least some sort of training.
This reading was much different from the Atomic Bombing of Nagasaki essay. Although both were inside stories, they were different parts of the same journey of dropping the atomic bomb. Zoe Tracy Hardy had a personal connection to the atomic bomb because she had helped create it. However, she could not fathom how devastating the damage was because she was not physically there to witness it. William Laurence was just tagging along for the ride when they were dropping the bomb, and was not personally attached to it at first. But Laurence was able to witness its awesome power and understand how dangerous it was and how much of an impact it would have. Hardy also had a huge adjustment to make with her life when the war happened because she was doing a man’s job. Laurence’s life did not change that dramatically because he remained in his same occupation as a reporter.
This was an interesting passage to read, because I had learned about this in history class but not as in depth. I knew that women took over men’s jobs, but I had no idea that they were building the machinery that the men were using to fight the war. It was scary thinking that this woman was 18 but she was building such heavy duty machinery, and even helped create the planes that dropped the atom bomb. It was also a bit terrifying thinking that these women needed absolutely no prior experience in the trade. It seems like building these is so difficult that one would need at least some sort of training.
This reading was much different from the Atomic Bombing of Nagasaki essay. Although both were inside stories, they were different parts of the same journey of dropping the atomic bomb. Zoe Tracy Hardy had a personal connection to the atomic bomb because she had helped create it. However, she could not fathom how devastating the damage was because she was not physically there to witness it. William Laurence was just tagging along for the ride when they were dropping the bomb, and was not personally attached to it at first. But Laurence was able to witness its awesome power and understand how dangerous it was and how much of an impact it would have. Hardy also had a huge adjustment to make with her life when the war happened because she was doing a man’s job. Laurence’s life did not change that dramatically because he remained in his same occupation as a reporter.